LECTURE 3 – DEVELOPING PROJECT PLAN

POJECT MANAGEMENT
LECTURE 3 – DEVELOPING PROJECT PLAN
CASE: ADVANTAGE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY DATA CENTER MIGRATION
Gray, C.F., Larson, E.W., Project Management. The Managerial Process, McGraw-Hill,
2008
Brian Smith, network administrator at Advanced Energy Technology (AET), has been given
the responsibility of implementing the migration of a large data center to a new office
location. Careful planning is needed because AET operates in the highly competitive
petroleum industry. AET is one of five national software companies which provide an
accounting and business management package for oil jobbers and gasoline distributors. A few
years ago, AET jumped into the “application service provider” world. Their large data center
provides clients with remote access to AET’s complete suite of application software systems.
Traditionally, one of AET’s primary competitive advantages has been the company’s
trademark IT reliability. Due to the complexity of this project, Brian will have to use a
parallel method of implementation. Although this will increase project costs, a parallel
approach is essential if reliability is not to be compromised.
Currently, AET’s data center is located on the second floor of a renovated old bank building
in downtown, Corvallis, Oregon. The company is moving to a new, one-level building located
in the recently developed industrial complex at the Corvallis International Airport. On
February l, Brian is formally assigned the task by the Vice-President of Operations, Dan
Whitmore, with the following guidelines:

Whitmore advises Brian to come back to the Executive Committee on February 15, with a
presentation on the scope of the project that includes costs, “first-cut” timeline, and proposed
project team members.
Brian had some preliminary discussions with some of AET’s managers and directors from
each of the functional departments and then arranged for a full-day scope meeting on
February 4 with a few of the managers and technical representatives from operations,
systems, facilities, and applications. The scope team determined the following:

and customer service.
Brian’s Executive Committee report was positively received and, after a few modifications
and recommendations, he was formally charged with responsibility for the project. Brian
recruited his team and scheduled their first team meeting (March l) as the initial task of his
project planning process.
Once the initial meeting is conducted Brian can hire the contractors to renovate the new data
center. During this time Brian will figure out how to design the network. Brian estimates that
screening and hiring a contractor will take about one week and that the network design will
take about two weeks. The new center requires a new ventilation system. The manufacturer’s
requirements include an ambient temperature of 67 degrees to keep all of the data servers
running at optimal speeds. The ventilation system has a lead time of three weeks. Brian will
also need to order new racks to hold the servers, switches, and other network devices. The
racks have a two-week delivery time.
The data center supervisor requested that Brian replace all of the old power supplies and data
cables. Brian will need to order these as well. Because Brian has a great relationship with the
vendor, they guarantee that it will take only one week lead time for the power supplies and
the data cables. Once the new ventilation system and racks arrive, Brian can begin installing
them. It will take one week to install the ventilation system and three weeks to install the
racks. The renovation of the new data center can begin as soon as the contractors have been
hired. The contractors tell Brian that construction will take 20 days. Once the construction
begins and before Brian installs the ventilation system and racks, the city inspector must
approve the construction of the raised floor.
The city inspector will take two days to approve the infrastructure. After the city inspection
and after the new power supplies and cables have arrived, Brian can install the power supplies
and run the cables. Brian estimates that it will take five days to install the power supplies and
one week to run all of the data cables. Before Brian can assign an actual date for taking the
network off line and switching to the hot remote site, he must get approval from the each of
the functional units (“Switchover Approval”). Meetings with each of the functional units will
require one week. During this time he can initiate a power check to ensure that each of the
racks has sufficient voltage. This will require only one day.
Upon completion of the power check, he can take one week to install his test servers. The test
servers will test all of the primary network functions and act as a safeguard before the
network is taken off line. The batteries must be charged, ventilation installed, and test servers
up and running before management can be assured that the new infrastructure is safe, which
will take two days. Then they will sign off the Primary Systems check, taking one day of
intense meetings. They will also set an official date for the network move.
Brian is happy that everything has gone well thus far and is convinced that the move will go
just as smoothly. Now that an official date is set, the network will be shut down for a day.
Brian must move all of the network components to the new data center. Brian will do the
move over the weekend – two days – when user traffic is at low point.
Assignment
1. Generate a priority matrix for AET’s system move.
2. Develop a WBS for Brian’s project. Include duration (days) and predecessors.
3. Using a project planning tool, generate a network diagram for this project.
(Note: Base your plan on the following guidelines: eight-hour days, seven-day weeks, no
holiday breaks, March 1, 2019 is the project start date.)

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